This invention relates to devices for injecting or withdrawing fluids at predetermined regions of the body and more particularly to a novel septum that permits multi-sided access for injection or withdrawal purposes.
Prosthetic devices implanted in the body to restore shapes and contours that have been surgically altered or accidentally deformed usually require infusions of fluid to maintain the desired shape or contour of the prosthesis. The infusions may be required on a periodic basis to vary the volume of fluid within the prosthesis for the purpose of restoring proper pocket tension or modifying the shape or contour of the prosthesis.
Septums are a well know vehicle for directing fluid to a prosthesis and alternatively can be used to drain unwanted fluids from certain areas of the body. A septum, which is generally implanted near a prosthesis, normally includes a fill chamber sealed by a needle penetrable seal member. Fluid is infused into or withdrawn from the fill chamber by a hypodermic needle that accesses the fill chamber through the needle penetrable seal member.
Occasionally a septum will flip over after implantation in a patient. This happens especially in the obese patient where the skin and tissue that surround the septum are somewhat soft and loose. The flipping over of the septum occurs when torsional stresses imposed on the septum by a hypodermic needle, for example, exceed the skin and tissue forces which hold the septum in its desired orientation. Once a septum has lipped over, the fill chamber is no longer easily accessible by a hypodermic needle. Thus, if the flipped over septum is to be of further use it must be repositioned, which may require further surgery.
One approach to improving the stability of a septum is to widen the base of the device. However, increases in the base size of the septum are not always desirable because the necessary surgery to position the septum becomes correspondingly more extensive.
It is thus desirable to provide a septum which remains functional for infusions or withdrawals of fluid even when the septum has flipped over from its original position in the body.